Revere woman caught with cocaine found guilty

SALEM – A Superior Court jury has found a Revere woman, who authorities caught with cocaine in her purse at Peabody District Court two years ago, guilty.Marissa Connors, 35, of 570 Mountain Ave., Revere, was found guilty of a lesser charge of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and a second charge of possession of cocaine stemming from her arrest in Peabody on March 10, 2009.Sentencing has been postponed until April 19.The jury comprised of nine women and three men deliberated for about seven hours over a two-day span.In the meantime, Connors, who had been free on $5,000 cash bail, was placed in custody and held pending the imposition of her punishment at Framingham State Prison.Assistant District Attorney Marsha H. Slingerland presented evidence during the trial that Connors was arrested on the morning of March 10, 2009 at Peabody District Court by a State Trooper after authorities received information that she had illegal drugs on her person.During a search, authorities discovered about one gram of cocaine in her purse.Connors was at Peabody District Court on a pretrial hearing for a shoplifting charge.Authorities then searched her white Pontiac sports car and found additional cocaine inside the center console.Defense lawyer Mark G. Miliotis argued that his client was an addict and the cocaine was for her own personal use.Connors did not take the stand in her own defense.She was indicted by an Essex County grand jury in April of 2009 and has been free on bail since being arraigned.Judge Timothy Q. Feeley presided over the trial.